Parasitic diseases are a group of extensive and diverse diseases caused by worms and protozoa. They experience a life cycle in the human body, feed and reproduce at the cost of "host", and cause damage to various organs and systems. Considering the effects on the entire body, it is difficult to doubt and identify them.
How does the infection happen?
Before entering the human body, worms and protozoa go through a development cycle in other environments or organisms.
- Eggs and larvae of roundworms, strongyloides and hookworms remain in the soil under certain temperature and humidity conditions. People become infected when contaminated soil enters directly from the ground through dirty hands, water, unwashed fruits and vegetables.
- Among the organisms, the following worms have undergone a development cycle: tapeworm (feline fluke), Clonorchis sinensis, Trichinella, Toxoplasma, Echinococcus, pork, and Bovine tapeworm. Before maturity, one or two intermediate hosts can be changed in order to be parasitic on a person. These are molluscs, crustaceans, fish, insects. Eating fish and meat that have not been sufficiently heat-treated, raw water can cause infection.
Another method of infection is through direct contact with people through handshake, daily hygiene and household items, or through self-infection. We are talking about infectious worms: pinworm disease, strongyloidosis, cysticercosis, giardiasis.
How to suspect a parasitic disease?
The performance can be varied, from mild to severe. There are very few typical signs of a specific pathogen. There are usually no signs, or they pretend to be other diseases, or disappear as one cycle of parasite development ends and another begins. For example, roundworm larvae first enter the human lungs, where they mature and migrate to the intestine. The child may be troubled by a brief cough (similar to a cold), which does not cause the parents to be alert.
However, there is usually a difference between the acute and chronic phases of the course of parasitic diseases.
Acute manifestations are the result of universal effects on the body:
- The effects of toxins-temperature rise to 37-37. 5 degrees, weakness, headache, decreased mood and performance, sleep disturbance;
- Allergic reactions-itching, urticaria, bronchospasm, shortness of breath, Quincke's edema is less common;
- Immune system activation-muscle and joint pain; enlarged lymph nodes, liver and spleen;
- Mechanical shock-if you look at it under a microscope, each worm can see the devices used to fix the body and damage the mucosa: teeth, hooks, suction cups. The result is abdominal pain, frequent bowel movements and indigestion.
The chronic phase is characterized by damage to certain organs and systems. In most cases, the intestine is affected, and prolonged mechanical action can cause inflammation, food absorption, and digestion. Anemia, vitamin and mineral deficiencies will occur, and the growth and weight gain of young children will be delayed. The gallbladder and biliary tract (giardiasis) may be affected; the cardiovascular system, lungs, and nervous system (usually trichinosis); lungs and liver (hydatid disease), etc. The course of the disease is long, immunity is suppressed, and secondary infections follow.
Therefore, we have many infection modes, development mechanisms and manifestations of parasitic diseases. It turns out that everyone is at risk of getting sick, right? But sometimes worms may not stay in the body: they die and leave, or are "out of date" without starting to parasitize (this is why the detection of "worms" in the stool does not prove the existence of the disease). Much depends on the stage of the worm, its aggressiveness and the human immune system. More susceptible to helminthiasis are children under the age of 5 who actively learn the world with their tongues, as well as people with chronic diseases and weakened immune systems.
If you find any of the signs listed, perform a clinical blood test with a white blood cell count. An increase in eosinophils to 7-10% or more will become another suspicious standard.
How to recognize parasitic diseases?
- For the study of protozoa and worm eggs in feces, enrichment method is best-PARASEP determines all types of worms and protozoa eggs living in the intestine
The standard of disease activity is the detection of eggs! This means the development, parasitism and reproductive cycle of worms in the body. These are mainly intestinal helminthiases. When a person is the ultimate host, the "permanent residence" of the parasite, the eggs are necessary for further transmission and the beginning of the next cycle.
You should pay attention to the following points:
- Each worm has its own developmental cycle, so just one study is not enough. If the result is negative, it is recommended to conduct 3 studies with an interval of 3-7 days;
- This form of helminthiasis occurs when a person is an intermediate host (a carrier of worm larvae) or a "biological dead end", when the larvae confuses the host and cannot develop further at all. In this case, eggs will never appear in the feces, and the disease can only be detected by measuring antibodies.
- Curettage of pinworm disease-only shows pinworm eggs in the perianal folds. Female pinworms lay eggs and only leave the intestines at night when the person relaxes. Therefore, the research is strictly carried out after bedtime and before washing!
- The study of lansii antigen in feces is a high-precision method for detecting lansii. For better testing, it is recommended to stick to a choleretic diet before testing.
- The study of worm antibodies (immunoglobulins) aims to evaluate the immune system against pathogens. Basically, the most durable immunoglobulin-G class (IgG) is determined, reflecting the fact of infection, but it is impossible to know whether there are worms in the body now, because IgG is stored in the body for a long time in the "memory file".
What should you pay attention to?
- The presence of manifestations and simultaneous detection of IgG may indicate that helminthiasis is in the chronic stage;
- In case of doubt, it is recommended to retest IgG after 2 weeks. A 2-fold or more increase in antibody levels indicates worm activity;
- For trichinosis, echinococcosis, and cysticercosis, the detection of antibodies is the only possible laboratory diagnosis method, because humans are the intermediate hosts of these worms.
For convenience, a complex "parasitic disease diagnosis" has been formed, including clinical blood testing, total IgE (allergic component) and the most common worm and protozoan antibodies.